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The Widgery Tribunal

On 1 February, a public inquiry headed by Lord Chief Justice Widgery was announced by British Prime Minister Ted Heath. He told Widgery in a secret memo that they were “…fighting not only a military war but a propaganda war.”

The Tribunal

Widgery refused to take evidence from the vast majority of civilian eyewitnesses. He sat in Coleraine, 30 miles away, rather than here in Derry. Soldiers testified anonymously and in disguise. It later emerged that their statements had been altered to suit the British version of events.

Widgery exonerated the Army, declaring that while

“None of the dead or wounded is proved to have been shot whilst handling a firearm or bomb …there is a strong suspicion that some…had been firing weapons or handling bombs …others had been closely supporting them.”

For Free Derry, Widgery confirmed that the entire British establishment stood behind the Bloody Sunday killers.

The British Army commander, Colonel Wilford, was awarded an OBE. His adjutant, Mike Jackson, later became chief of staff, Britain’s number one soldier.

Bloody Sunday

About the Museum of Free Derry

The Museum of Free Derry tells the story of how a largely working class community rose up against the years of oppression it had endured. The museum and archive has become an integral part of Ireland’s radical and civil rights heritage.

The museum also tells the story of Bloody Sunday, the day when the British Army committed mass murder on the streets of the Bogside. It tells the story of how the people of Derry, led by the families of the victims, overcame the injustice and wrote a new chapter in the history of civil rights, which has become a source of international inspiration.

The museum is a public space where the concept of Free Derry can be explored in both historic and contemporary contexts. Free Derry is about our future together as much as it is about the past. The struggle of Free Derry is part of a wider struggle in Ireland and internationally for freedom and equality for all.